Timber connectors and noggings

ABSTRACT

A connector ( 20 ) for joining a timber member ( 10 ) to a second component has an end plate ( 21 ) for overlying an end face of the timber member ( 10 ), the end plate ( 21 ) having projecting prongs ( 27 ) for penetrating the end face of that member. The connector ( 20 ) has a first side tab ( 22 ) adjoining the end plate ( 21 ) along a first common edge whereby the first side tab ( 22 ) may be bent round ( 5 ) about that common edge to engage a first side face ( 11 ) of the timber member following engagement of the end plate with the timber member end face. The first side tab ( 22 ) has projecting teeth ( 30 ) for penetrating the first side face ( 11 ), the teeth ( 30 ) being curved along their length towards the end plate ( 21 ) of the connector ( 20 ). A second side tab ( 23 ) is similarly formed to the first side tab ( 22, 10 ) and adjoins the end plate ( 21 ) along a second common edge opposed to the first common edge, for bending round to engage a second side face ( 12 ) of the timber member.

This invention relates to a connector for use in joining a first timber member to another component such as a second timber member. This invention further relates to a connection when formed between a nogging of fixed or adjustable length and another timber member, using a connector of this invention.

In this specification, the terms “timber” and “wood” are used to refer to real wood as such, together with manufactured materials having the same or closely similar characteristics to real wood and which are used in similar applications. Such materials should be capable of being machined, nailed, screwed and glued, in much the same way as is real wood.

When constructing a timber structure, such as a frame for a building, a floor, a studwork wall or a roof, it is common practice to stabilise the members of the structure by employing elements extending between the principal timber members. Such elements are usually referred to as noggings. In addition to their stabilising function, noggings may be employed for the mounting of other components to the structure, such as electrical fittings, as well as giving support for edges of various kinds of cladding which may be attached to the structure, such as wall and ceiling boards.

Given the variability of the spacing between the timber members, such noggings must be cut during construction to the exact required length. This involves measuring the spacing between the two members, transferring that dimension to the timber from which the nogging is to be cut, and then trial-fitting the nogging before securing it in position, and possibly finally trimming the length of the nogging or maybe even discarding it, if it had been inadvertently cut too short. The nogging must then be secured in position and this is usually done by means of nails hammered in on the skew.

The process of installing noggings is therefore time consuming and the resulting joint utilising skew nails is mechanically weak and can lead to a less than wholly satisfactory connection.

This invention aims at providing a connector suitable for use with a timber nogging to enhance the securing of attachment thereof.

According to this invention, there is provided a connector for use in joining a first timber member to another component which connector comprises an end plate for overlying an end face of the first timber member and including projecting prongs for penetrating said end face, and a first side tab adjoining the end plate along a first common edge whereby the first side tab may be bent round with respect to the end plate about that first common edge to engage a first side face of the first timber member following engagement of the end plate with said end face, the first side tab having projecting teeth for penetrating said first side face which teeth are curved along their length.

It will be appreciated that the connector of this invention allows a conventional timber nogging to be attached securely to another timber member without needing to employ skew nails or other relatively crude techniques.

Rather, the connector provides a secure connection to the end portion of a timber nogging and the connector may then be used to achieve the connection to some other component such as another timber member.

The connector may include second and third side tabs similarly formed to the first side tab but adjoining the end plate along second and third common edges. The second and third side tabs may be bent round with respect to the end plate to engage a second side face and a top face of the first timber member, following engagement of the end plate with said end face.

It has been determined that the security of the connection of the connector to the end portion of a timber member may be much enhanced by having the teeth of the (or each) side tab curved towards the end part of the connector. Preferably, the radius of curvature of each tooth is different from the distance from the side tab common edge to the point of entry of that tooth into the face of the first timber member, whereby the tooth is deformed as it penetrates the timber when the side tab is bent round about its common edge to engage the face of the timber. The radius of curvature of each tooth preferably is smaller than said distance between the point of entry into the side face and the common edge, whereby the point of entry is nearer the common edge than the connection of the tooth with the side tab.

Each tooth may be formed integrally with the side tab by shearing out of the plane of the material defining the side tab a tooth-shaped strip of the material but leaving one end thereof still connected to the side tab, preferably furthest from the common edge, and with a pointed free end. The shearing operation may include a forming operation to define the curved profile of the tooth.

The projecting prongs of the end plate may be formed by means of a circular punch driven through the material of the end plate thereby to form generally triangular, curved pointed prongs upstanding from a circular hole through the end plate. It has been found that prongs of this form can achieve a good connection to the end face of a timber member, particular having regard to the variable nature of timber and the structure of the end grain.

In order to allow the connection of the connector to some other timber member, it is preferred for the connector to have a further tab adjoining the end plate along a fourth common edge which further tab lies in the plane substantially normal to that of the end plate and is directed away from the projecting prongs thereof, to lie alongside a face of said another component for attachment thereto. That further tab may have projecting tines for penetrating said another component but in view of the intended linear engagement of the further tab with the other member, those tines are preferably of simple linear form.

Both the end plate and further tab (when provided) are preferably provided with holes through which screws, nails or like fasteners may be passed into another timber component, to enhance the security of the connection.

By way of example only, one specific embodiment of a connector for effecting a connection between a nogging and another timber member, will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a simple fixed-length nogging provided with connectors of this invention at both of its two ends;

FIG. 2 shows the nogging of FIG. 1 together with the two connectors before installation to that nogging;

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are respectively plan, end and side views of the connector of FIGS. 1 and 2 when installed on an end of a nogging;

FIG. 4 shows the attachment of the connector of the previous Figures assembled to another timber member; and

FIG. 5 shows an alternative form of connector suitable for use when said another timber member is of a relatively small depth.

FIG. 1 shows a fixed length nogging cut from timber and provided with connectors of this invention at its two ends, the nogging being suitable for installation between a pair of other timber members such as timber stud work, joists, rafters or the like, in the construction of a building. The timber nogging 10 is of rectangular cross-section and has opposed side faces 11 and 12, a top face 13 and a bottom face 14. Square-cut end faces 15, 16 are formed at the two ends of the nogging with the required spacing therebetween and the corners between the side faces 11 and 12 and the top face 13 are cut away as shown, to form two tapering flutes 17 extending for a short distance along the length of the nogging.

Each end of the nogging carries a metallic connector 20, shown in FIG. 2, before installation. The connector has a generally rectangular end plate 21 from three edges of which extend respective first, second and third side tabs 22, 23, 24, which before installation to the nogging are substantially co-planar with the end plate 21. A further tab 25 extends from the fourth edge of the end plate 21, normally to the plane of the end plate 21 and in a direction away from the nogging, when the connector is installed thereon.

The end plate 21 has five holes 26 punched therethrough in such a way that the material of the end plate is partially sheared from the end plate to project in the direction opposed to that of the further tab 25, and define curved pointed teeth 27 for penetrating the end face of the nogging. Appropriate profiling of the punch will ensure that three such teeth 27 are formed at each hole 26, each projecting by substantially the same distance from the main area of the end plate 21. The two corners of the end plate 21 remote from the further tab 25 are provided with nail-holes 28 which align with the flutes 17 for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

Each of the first, second and third side tabs 22, 23, 24 are of a similar form. Each has a pair of teeth 30 sheared out of the material of the side tab so as to have a pointed free end 31 and a curved form along its length. Each tooth remains connected to the side tab at a location furthest from the common edge between the end plate 21 and the side tab and the tooth is curved round towards the end plate. The curvature of the teeth will be discussed in more detail below.

The further tab 25 is provided with four upstanding prongs 33, each sheared from the material of the further tab but each being of an essentially linear form with a pointed free end. The further tab has a pair of nail holes 34 formed in its corner regions, remote from the end plate 21.

Each of the connectors shown in FIG. 2 is installed on the end of the timber nogging 10 as shown in FIG. 1. Referring to the left-hand end of the nogging (as shown in the Figures), the end plate 21 of the connector 20 is initially either pressed or hammered to the end face 15 of the nogging, with the nail holes 28 aligned with the flutes 17 and the further tab 25 substantially aligned with the bottom face 14 of the nogging. When the end plate is fully engaged with the end face of the nogging, and so with the curved pointed teeth 27 fully penetrating the end face of the timber nogging, the side tabs 22,23 and 24 are pressed or hammered round by bending the connector about the common side edges between those tabs and the end plate 21, so that the side tabs wholly engage the side and top faces of the timber nogging. This causes the teeth 30 to penetrate the side and top faces of the nogging and become fully received within the timber of the nogging.

The radius of curvature of each tooth 30 should be such that the teeth do not simply penetrate on the radius at the point of entry into the timber; rather, the radius of curvature of each tooth at its point of entry is slightly different so that each tooth is deformed to some extent as it penetrates the timber. In this way, it is possible to achieve a more secure connection. FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C show the connector installed on the end of a nogging and it can be seen that the teeth 27 remain curved within the timber of the nogging. The combination of the curved pointed teeth 27 penetrating the end of the nogging and the three tabs which are bent over the sides of the nogging provide a uniquely secure attachment which resists movement in the x, y and z directions of the nogging.

The attachment of the nogging to another timber member such as a joist 36 is shown in FIG. 4. The nogging is vertically aligned at the required position, with the outer surface of the end plate 21 against a side face 37 of the joist. The further tab 25 is then pressed or hammered into the top face 38 of the joist 36 so that the prongs 33 penetrate the timber of the joist. The further tab is then secured in position by means of nails 39 hammered into the joist through holes 34 in the further tab. The security of the attachment is enhanced by further nails 40 being hammered into the side face 37 of the joist, through the nail holes 28. Access to the heads of the nails 40 passing those holes is enabled by the flutes 17. In the last stage of hammering home those nails 40, the corner portions of the end plate 21 is deformed slightly into the wood of the joist 36, as shown in FIG. 4, so giving a yet more secure connection.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of connector 42, suitable for use where the depth of the joist 36 is insufficient to accommodate the corners of the end plate 21 being deformed slightly into the face 37 of the joist 36. In this alternative embodiment, a pair of tabs 43 furnished with nail holes are provided co-planar with the end plate 21, on opposed edges thereof. Each of these tabs has a folded edge 45 which penetrates the face 37 of the joist 36 when nails 40 are hammered home giving a yet more secure connection. 

1. A connector for use in joining a first timber member to another component, wherein the first timber member has opposed first and second side faces and an end face extending between the first and second side faces said connector comprising: an end plate for overlying said end face of the first timber member and including projecting prongs for penetrating said end face, and a first side tab adjoining the end plate along a first common edge, the first side tab being arranged for bending round with respect to the end plate about said first common edge to engage the first side face of the first timber member following engagement of the end plate with said end face, the first side tab having projecting teeth for penetrating said first side face which teeth are curved along their length.
 2. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the teeth of the first side tab are curved towards the end plate of the connector.
 3. A connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein each tooth penetrates the first side face at a pre-set distance from said common edge and the radius of curvature of each tooth is different from said pre-set distance whereby the tooth is deformed as the tooth penetrates the first side face in the course of bending round the first side tab about said common edge to engage the first side face.
 4. A connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the effective radius of curvature of each tooth is smaller than said pre-set distance.
 5. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein each tooth is formed integrally with the first side tab by shearing out of the plane of the material defining the first side tab a tooth-shaped strip of the material but leaving one end thereof still connected to the first side tab.
 6. A connector as claimed in claim 5, wherein the said one end of the tooth is furthest from the common edge.
 7. A connector as claimed in claim 5, wherein the shearing operation includes a forming operation to define the curved profile of the tooth.
 8. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein each tooth is pointed at its free end.
 9. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connector includes a second side tab similarly formed to the first side tab but adjoining the end plate along a second common edge opposed to the first common edge, said second side tab being arranged for bending round with respect to the end plate to engage a the second side face of the first timber member opposed to the first side face thereof, following engagement of the end plate with said end face.)
 10. A connector as claimed in claim 9, wherein the connector includes a third side tab adjoining the end plate along a third common edge extending between the first and second common edges, said third side tab having projecting curved teeth and being arranged for bending round with respect to the end plate to engage a third side face of the timber member extending between said first and second side faces thereof, following engagement of the end plate with said end face.
 11. A connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein the third side tab is similarly formed to the first and second side tabs.
 12. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the projecting prongs of the end plate are formed by means of a circular punch driven through the material of the end plate thereby to form generally triangular, curved pointed prongs upstanding from a circular hole through the end plate.
 13. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connector includes a further tab adjoining the end plate along a fourth common edge which further tab lies in the plane substantially normal to that of the end plate and is directed away from the projecting prongs thereof, to lie alongside a face of said another component for attachment thereto.
 14. A connector as claimed in claim 13, wherein the further tab has projecting tines for penetrating said another component.
 15. A connector as claimed in claim 14, wherein each tine of the further tab is substantially linear.
 16. A connector as claimed in claim 14, wherein each tine of the further tab is sheared out of the material of the further tab and is formed to lie substantially normal thereto.
 17. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein an edge of at least one of the tabs thereof is folded over to penetrate a face of a timber member against which the tab lies.
 18. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end plate is provided with attachment means for attaching the end plate to said another component.
 19. A connector as claimed in claim 18, wherein said attachment means comprises a plurality of holes through which fasteners selected from screws, nails and like fasteners can be passed into said another component.
 20. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said another component comprises a second timber member, the connector serving to connect the first timber member to a face of the second timber member.
 21. A connection between first and second timber members whenever effected with a connector as claimed in claim
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